Skid-resistance anti-static shoe cover

ABSTRACT

A shoe cover for wearing over a shoe includes an upper shell, a bottom sole, and an anti-static strip, with the upper shell and the sole are attached together to form an internal space for housing the covered shoe, with the sole made of a skid-resistant material to promote enhanced traction for the wearer, and with the anti-static strip attached to the shoe cover to promote contact with the walked-upon surface to prevent static electricity build up and shocks. In example embodiments, the static strip is attached to the shoe cover along a central longitudinal portion of the sole or along a side longitudinal seam joining the upper shell and the sole together.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 62/212,111 filed Aug. 31, 2015, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to protective clothing articlesfor persons such as service technicians and other workers, andparticularly to disposable covers for shoes.

BACKGROUND

Shoe covers are commonly worn over shoes by service providers (e.g.,technicians and other workers) in service industries such as HVAC,plumbing, electrical wiring, manufacturing, etc. to protect customers'floors against debris such as dirt, mud, grime, etc. that can be trackedin by the workers. Shoe covers are also commonly worn over shoes byworkers in manufacturing, agriculture, and other industries. Typically,such shoe covers are disposable and intended for a single use.

Some shoe covers include rubberized soles for traction to help reducethe likelihood of skidding/slipping on relatively slicker flooring sucha hardwood and wet tile floors. But such shoe covers are not so wellsuited for use in environments that tend to generate static electricitybuild-up that can cause small electrical shocks (which can be hurtful topeople and equipment). Other shoe covers include anti-static strips thatcan be pulled up and tucked into the wearer's socks to maintain bodilycontact and thus prevent static electricity build-up, but they're not aswell suited for use on slicker flooring because they do not provide asgood traction resulting in falls, injuries, and workers compensationclaims.

Accordingly, it can be seen that needs exist for improvements in shoecovers to provide for enhanced functionality on a wider range offlooring surfaces. It is to the provision of solutions to these andother problems that the present invention is primarily directed.

SUMMARY

Generally described, the present invention relates to skid-resistantanti-static shoes cover for wearing over shoes. The shoe covers includean upper shell, a bottom sole, and an anti-static strip. The upper shelland the sole are attached together to form an internal space for housingthe covered shoe being worn. The sole includes a skid-resistant materialto promote enhanced traction for the wearer. And the anti-static stripis attached to the shoe cover to promote contact with the walked-uponsurface to avoid static electricity build up and shocks.

In a first example embodiment, the anti-static strip is attached to theshoe cover along a central longitudinal portion of the sole. In a secondexample embodiment the anti-static strip is attached to the shoe coveralong a side longitudinal seam joining the upper shell and the soletogether. The anti-static strip can be attached to the shoe cover forexample by stitching or other conventional attachments. In otherembodiments, the anti-static strip is attached to the shoe cover inother locations and/or by other attachments in order to provide theanti-static functionality described herein without sacrificing theskid-resistant functionality described herein.

The specific techniques and structures employed to improve over thedrawbacks of the prior devices and accomplish the advantages describedherein will become apparent from the following detailed description ofexample embodiments and the appended drawings and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a shoe cover according to a first exampleembodiment of the present invention, shown beside a shoe it can be wornover.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the shoe cover of FIG. 1, showinga main body of the shoe cover and a portion of an anti-static stripextending therefrom.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another portion of the shoe cover of FIG. 1,showing the antistatic strip and the shoe-cover main body from which itextends.

FIG. 4 shows the shoe cover portion of FIG. 3 with the anti-static stripshown pulled taut.

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the shoe cover portion of FIG. 2, showing theattachment of the anti-static strip to the shoe-cover main body.

FIG. 6 is a detail view of the shoe cover portion of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a side perspective view of a front portion of the shoe coverof FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a rear portion of the shoe cover of FIG. 5,showing the inside of the shoe-cover main body where the anti-staticstrip is attached.

FIG. 9 shows the shoe cover portion of FIG. 8 with the anti-static stripattachment bead displaced from a neutral position.

FIG. 10 is a cross-section view of a portion of the shoe cover taken atline 8-8 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 shows the shoe-cover portion of FIG. 8 in use with a wearer'sfoot compressing portions of the anti-static strip and the sole intocontact with a walked-upon surface.

FIG. 12 is a rear perspective view of the shoe cover of FIG. 1 beingworn over a shoe with the anti-static strip tucked into the wearer'ssock.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of a shoe cover according to a second exampleembodiment of the present invention, shown beside a shoe it can be wornover.

FIG. 14 is a bottom view of the shoe cover of FIG. 13, showing a mainbody of the shoe cover and an anti-static strip extending therefrom.

FIG. 15 is a plan view of a portion of the shoe cover of FIG. 13,showing the inside of the shoe-cover main body.

DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention relates to shoe covers for wearing over shoes(e.g., work boots or work sneakers) by service providers for protection,for example, to protect customers' floors against debris that can betracked in and about by the workers. The shoe covers can be disposablefor example for use in clean rooms. The shoe covers include features tohelp prevent slippage when walking on hardwood, wet tile, and otherslicker floors to provide good traction and also to help avoid staticelectricity build-up to help prevent static-electricity shocks.

FIGS. 1-12 show a shoe cover 10 according to a first example embodimentof the present invention. The shoe cover 10 includes an upper shell 12and a bottom sole 14 together forming a main body that defines aninternal space that encloses a worker's shoe. The upper shell 12 definesan ankle opening 16 surrounded by an elastic band 18 for adjustability.The ankle opening 16 is sized large enough in diameter to permit thefoot of a larger-than-typical user (i.e., a large-footed adult malehuman being) to fit through to put on the shoe cover 10. And the elasticband 18 is attached to the upper shell 12 around the lip of the ankleopening 16 in a neutral state with the upper shell crimped down to asmaller diameter to permit the shoe cover 10 to stay on the foot of asmaller-than-typical user while still permitting the opening to beexpanded to put on the shoe cover.

The elastic band 18 can each be attached to the upper shell 12 forexample by non-elastic stitching (as depicted), elastic stitching, anadhesive, or another conventional attachment. The sole 14 can each beattached to the upper shell 12 for example by stitching (as depicted),an adhesive, or another conventional attachment. The upper shell 12 canbe made of a sheet of a polypropylene material or another conventionalmaterial, the sole 14 can be made of a sheet of a PVC, rubber, orpolypropylene material, or of another conventional material forproviding good traction on hardwood, wet tile, and other slicker floors.And the elastic band 18 can be made of a natural or synthetic rubbermaterial or another conventional elastomeric material.

These components and features of the shoe cover 10 are conventional andcommercially available for example under the brand DURA-SOLE fromSHUBEE, INC. (Macon, Ga.). As such, additional details of the structure,configuration, and assembly of these components are not included hereinfor brevity.

In addition, the shoe cover 10 includes an anti-static strip 20 attachedto and extending from it. The anti-static strip 20 can be made of aconventional conductive material such as polyethylene, a cloth/fabricmaterial, a combination thereof, or another conductive material known.The generalities of such anti-static strips are known, so additionaldetails of the structure, configuration, and manufacture of thiscomponent are not included herein for brevity.

The anti-static strip 20 has a free portion 20 a with a free length(extending from the shoe cover 10) that is long enough that it can bepulled up and tucked into the wearer's socks to maintain bodily/skincontact to prevent static electricity build-up (see FIG. 12). Typically,the anti-static strip 20 has a free length (extending from the shoecover 10) of about 10.0 to about 20.0 inches (e.g., depending on whetherintended for use with work shoes, work boots, or both), for example inthe depicted embodiment the strip has a free length of about 16.5inches. And the anti-static strip 20 has an attached portion 20 b withan attached exposed portion having an exposed area (exposed lengthextending along to the shoe cover 10 and exposed width extendinglaterally from the shoe cover) that is large enough that it providesgood contact with the ground when the wearer walks across flooring suchas carpeting. Typically, the anti-static strip 20 has an attachedexposed area of about 7.0 to about 18.0 inches long (e.g., depending onthe shoe and shoe-cover size) by about 0.5 to about 1.0 inches wide, forexample in the depicted embodiment the strip has an attached exposedarea of about 9.5 inches long by about 0.5 inch wide. In embodiments inwhich the anti-static strip 20 is stitched or otherwise attached to theshoe cover 10 along the peripheral seam 22 (such as that depicted), thestrip can have a uniform width of for example about 0.75 inch, with thefree and attached portions each having that full 0.75-inch width, andwith the attached sewn-in portion having a smaller width for exampleabout 0.25 inches and the attached exposed portion having a smallerwidth for example about 0.5 inches.

In this way, the skid-resistant material of the sole 14 provides forenhanced traction to reduce slipping by the wearer. And the anti-staticstrip 120 provides a conductive pathway around the wearer's shoes toreduce static electricity build up and electric shocks to the wearer.

The attached portion 20 b of the anti-static strip 20 can be attached tothe shoe cover 10 along a peripheral seam 22 defined by the jointbetween the upper shell 12 and the sole 14. In the depicted embodiment,for example, the sole 14 is attached to the upper shell 12 by stitchingaround and forming the peripheral seam 22, with the stitching beinginternal (within the internal space) so that the resulting stitchingbead 24 is also internal. And the attached portion 20 b of theanti-static strip 20 is internal and sewn into the peripheral seam 22with its non-exposed portion positioned between the peripheral lip ofthe sole 14 and the peripheral lip of the upper shell 12 and thusforming a three-layer internal bead 24. This keeps the stitching andresulting bead 24 internal so it is less likely to be abraded and failduring heavy-wear usage conditions.

In addition, the sole 14 is sized and shaped to function as an extensionof the worker's shoe by covering the entire bottom surface of the soleof the covered shoe for enhanced skid-resistance. As such, the seam 22is formed around the periphery of the sole 14, and the anti-static strip20 is attached to the shoe cover 10 along a longitudinal sideedge/portion 22 a of the peripheral seam 22. The attached portion 20 bof the anti-static strip 20 can be attached to the shoe cover 10 alongthe side portion 22 a of the peripheral seam 22 so that its exposedportion tends to extend laterally inward across the sole 14 into a morecentrally located position (see FIGS. 10-11). For example, the sole 14(or at least the peripheral portion including the lip that partiallyforms the internal bead 24) can be made of a less flexible material thanthe upper shell 12 and the anti-static strip 20 combined so that theupper shell lip folds over onto the sole lip (instead of vice versa), asdepicted. Thus, the sole 14 remains generally flat while the upper shellfolds back over on itself so that the exposed portion of the anti-staticstrip 20 extends laterally inward across the sole. In this way, theanti-static strip 20 maintains better contact with the ground duringwalking to avoid static electricity build-up. Also, the anti-staticstrip 20 extends from the rear of the sole 14 at one of the sides/edgesof the shoe cover 10 (instead of at its center) with this lateral offsetproviding for somewhat easier use (e.g., somewhat easier to see andreach to grasp and tuck into the wear wear's socks, somewhat less riskof the wearer stepping on the strip with the other foot and trippingbefore it's tucked in and/or if it becomes untucked during use forexample when the left shoe cover is worn with its strip on the left sideand the right shoe cover is worn with its strip on the right side).

In other embodiments, to promote contact of the exposed attached portionof the anti-static strip with the walked-upon surface, the sole of theshoe cover is laterally undersized (i.e., with a narrower width so thatthe two side longitudinal portions of the peripheral seam are beneaththe wearer's shoe). Thus, the shoe covers can be provided in multiplesizes to provide for good contact between the exposed portion of theanti-static strip and the floor/ground, for example medium/M (11 cmwide), large/L (13 cm wide), and extra-large/XL (15 cm wide). And instill other embodiments, to promote contact of the exposed attachedportion of the anti-static strip with the ground, the exposed attachedportion has an increased width so that it extends laterally fartheracross the shoe-cover sole, with the entire anti-static strip stillhaving a uniform width or the attached portion being wider than the freeportion.

FIGS. 13-15 show a shoe cover 110 according to a second exampleembodiment of the present invention. The shoe cover 110 is similar tothat of the first example embodiment, for example it includes an uppershell 112 and a bottom sole 114 together forming a main body thatdefines an internal space that encloses a worker's shoe, with the soleproviding skid-resistant functionality, and with an anti-static strip120 attached to the shoe-cover main body to provideelectric-shock-resistant functionality. As such, the general structure,configuration, and partial assembly of these components is as describedabove and thus will not be repeated for brevity.

In this embodiment, the anti-static strip 120 is attached in a differentlocation to the shoe-cover main body. In particular, the anti-staticstrip 120 is positioned longitudinally along and attached to the sole114 along its central longitudinal portion 126 to promote contact withthe walked-upon surface. For example, the attached portion 120 b of theanti-static strip 120 can be attached to the central longitudinalportion 126 of the sole 114 by stitching to form a central longitudinalseam 128, as depicted. The stitching material and pattern is typicallyselected to provide a strong and durable attachment of the anti-staticstrip 120 to the sole 114 while also maintaining a low profile tominimize possible loss of gripping contact by the sole adjacent thecentral longitudinal seam 128 and possible loss of electrical contact bythe anti-static strip to the walked-upon surface (which loss of grippingand electrical contact could occur with a thicker attachment). Inaddition, the anti-static strip attached portion 120 be can attachedalong the true longitudinal centerline of the shoe-cover sole 114, oranywhere else within/along the central longitudinal portion 126, whichis defined as about the central/middle 1/3 of the sole (between opposingside longitudinal portions positioned laterally inward from thelongitudinal sides of the peripheral seam 122). Also, the centrallongitudinal seam 128 typically does not extend all the way to/betweenthe front and rear portions of peripheral seam 122 (where the upper 112and the sole 114 are attached), for example the front ends of theanti-static strip 120 and the central longitudinal seam can begin about0.5 cm from the front portion of the peripheral seam.

In another aspect, the invention relates to a method of manufacturingthe shoe covers. For example, the shoe cover 10 of the first exampleembodiment can be manufactured by providing the upper shell 12, thebottom sole 14, and the anti-static strip 20, then attaching the bottomperipheral lip of the upper shell, the peripheral lip of the sole, andthe anti-static strip together into a peripheral seam 22. In typicalembodiments, for example, this three-layered peripheral seam 22 isformed by internal stitching to form a stitching bead 24 within theinternal space of the resulting shoe cover 10. Free longitudinal edgesof the peripheral lip of the sole 14 and of the peripheral lip of theupper shell 12 can be stacked and aligned with a free longitudinal edgeof the anti-static strip 20, and the sole can made of a flexiblematerial having a greater stiffness than the flexible materials of theupper shell 12 and/or the anti-static strip combined so that theattached exposed portion 20 b of the anti-static strip extends laterallyinward across the sole to promote contact with the walked-upon surface.

As another example, the shoe cover 110 of the second example embodimentcan be manufactured by providing the upper shell 112, the bottom sole114, and the anti-static strip 120, then attaching the bottom peripherallip of the upper and the peripheral lip of the sole together into theperipheral seam 122. In typical embodiments, for example, thistwo-layered peripheral seam 122 is formed by internal stitching to forma stitching bead within the internal space of the resulting shoe cover110. And the anti-static strip 120 can then be attached to the sole 114along the central longitudinal portion 126 of the sole to promotecontact with the walked-upon surface. For example, the attached portion120 b of the anti-static strip 120 can be attached to the centrallongitudinal portion 126 of the sole 114 by stitching, such as by usinga conventional flatbed machine, to form the central longitudinal seam128.

It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to thespecific devices, methods, conditions, or parameters described and/orshown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments by way of example only. Thus, theterminology is intended to be broadly construed and is not intended tobe limiting of the claimed invention. For example, as used in thespecification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “one” include the plural, the term “or” means “and/or,” andreference to a particular numerical value includes at least thatparticular value, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Inaddition, any methods described herein are not intended to be limited tothe sequence of steps described but can be carried out in othersequences, unless expressly stated otherwise herein.

While the invention has been shown and described in exemplary forms, itwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that many modifications,additions, and deletions can be made therein without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shoe cover for wearing over a shoe of a wearer,comprising: an upper shell with an ankle opening through which thewearer's shoe can be inserted to don the shoe cover; a bottom sole madeof a skid-resistant material and attached to the upper shell to form aperipheral seam and to define an internal space housing the coveredshoe; and at least one anti-static strip made of a conductive material,having a free portion extending from the shoe cover with a lengthselected to permit it to be tucked into the shoe or a sock of thewearer, and having an attached portion that is attached to the shoecover and has at least an exposed portion thereof positioned adjacentthe sole so that it contacts a surface walked upon by the wearer,wherein the skid-resistant material of the sole provides for enhancedtraction to reduce slipping by the wearer, and the anti-static stripprovides a conductive pathway to reduce static electricity build up andelectric shocks to the wearer.
 2. The shoe cover of claim 1, wherein theupper shell includes an elastic band surrounding the ankle opening. 3.The shoe cover of claim 1, wherein a peripheral lip of the bottom soleand a bottom peripheral lip of the upper shell are attached togetheralong the peripheral seam to form a bead.
 4. The shoe cover of claim 3,wherein the peripheral lip of the bottom sole and the bottom peripherallip of the upper shell are attached together along the peripheral seamto form the bead within the internal space of the shoe cover.
 5. Theshoe cover of claim 1, wherein the sole includes a central longitudinalportion and the anti-static strip is attached to the centrallongitudinal portion of the sole.
 6. The shoe cover of claim 5, whereinthe sole further includes two opposing side longitudinal portionsbetween which the central longitudinal portion is positioned.
 7. Theshoe cover of claim 5, wherein the side longitudinal portions of thesole are positioned inward of longitudinal side portions of theperipheral seam attaching the sole to the upper shell.
 8. The shoe coverof claim 5, wherein the anti-static strip is attached to the centrallongitudinal portion of the sole along a central longitudinal seam. 9.The shoe cover of claim 8, wherein the central longitudinal seam isformed by stitching the attached portion of the anti-static strip to thecentral longitudinal portion of the sole.
 10. The shoe cover of claim 9,wherein the stitching is configured to provide a strong and durableattachment of the anti-static strip to the sole while also maintaining alow profile to minimize possible loss of gripping contact between thesole adjacent the central longitudinal seam and the walked-upon surfaceand to minimize possible loss of electrical contact between theanti-static strip and the walked-upon surface.
 11. The shoe cover ofclaim 10, wherein the anti-static strip is stitched to the sole using aflatbed machine after the sole is attached to the upper shell.
 12. Theshoe cover of claim 1, wherein the attached portion of the anti-staticstrip includes the exposed portion and a non-exposed portion, thenon-exposed portion is attached to the shoe cover along the peripheralseam, and the exposed portion extends laterally inwardly across andadjacent the sole.
 13. The shoe cover of claim 12, wherein freelongitudinal edges of the peripheral lip of the sole, the bottomperipheral lip of the upper shell, and the non-exposed attached portionof the anti-static strip are stacked in three layers, aligned together,and stitched together to attach the anti-static strip to the shoe cover.14. The shoe cover of claim 12, wherein the sole is made of a lessflexible material than the upper shell and the anti-static stripcombined so that the sole remains generally flat and thus biases theupper shell to fold back over on itself so that the exposed portion ofthe anti-static strip extends laterally inward to promote contact withthe walked-upon surface.
 15. A shoe cover for wearing over a shoe of awearer, comprising: an upper shell with an ankle opening through whichthe wearer's shoe can be inserted to don the shoe cover and with anelastic band surrounding the ankle opening provide adjustability of theankle opening; a bottom sole made of a skid-resistant material andattached to the upper shell to form a peripheral seam and to define aninternal space housing the covered shoe, wherein a peripheral lip of thebottom sole and a bottom peripheral lip of the upper shell are attachedtogether to form the peripheral seam, and wherein the sole includes twoopposing side longitudinal portions and a central longitudinal portionpositioned therebetween; and at least one anti-static strip made of aconductive material, having a free portion extending from the shoe coverwith a length selected to permit it to be tucked into the shoe or a sockof the wearer, and having an attached portion that is attached to theshoe cover and positioned adjacent the sole so that it contacts asurface walked upon by the wearer, wherein the attached portion of theanti-static strip is attached to and along the central longitudinalportion of the sole along a central longitudinal seam formed bystitching the attached portion of the anti-static strip to the centrallongitudinal portion of the sole, wherein the skid-resistant material ofthe sole provides for enhanced traction to reduce slipping by thewearer, and the anti-static strip provides a conductive pathway toreduce static electricity build up and electric shocks to the wearer.16. The shoe cover of claim 15, wherein the peripheral lip of the bottomsole and the bottom peripheral lip of the upper shell are attachedtogether along the peripheral seam to form the bead within the internalspace of the shoe cover.
 17. The shoe cover of claim 15, wherein theside longitudinal portions of the sole are positioned inward oflongitudinal side portions of the peripheral seam attaching the sole tothe upper shell.
 18. The shoe cover of claim 15, wherein the stitchingis configured to provide a strong and durable attachment of theanti-static strip to the sole while also maintaining a low profile tominimize possible loss of gripping contact between the sole adjacent thecentral longitudinal seam and the walked-upon surface and to minimizepossible loss of electrical contact between the anti-static strip andthe walked-upon surface.
 19. The shoe cover of claim 15, wherein theanti-static strip is stitched to the sole using a flatbed machine afterthe sole is attached to the upper shell.